2016 Postmortem

applegrove

(118,677 posts) Mon May 16, 2016, 08:51 PM May 2016

Hillary Clinton has a likability problem. Donald Trump has a likability epidemic.

Hillary Clinton has a likability problem. Donald Trump has a likability epidemic.

By Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/05/16/hillary-clintons-long-lingering-likable-enough-problem/

"SNIP..............

What do all of those numbers tell us? Something we have long known: The vote for president — in the primary and, especially, the general election — is about much more than how long your resume is or the policy positions you stake out in the course of a campaign or a political life.

The vote for president is a "feel" vote. Do you think this person is someone who understands you and the problems (and hopes and dreams) you have for yourself and your children? Can you imagine this person being president for the next four years? Could you have dinner with this person? Would it be fun?

As I wrote last week about Jon Stewart's critical comments about Clinton, it's on those questions that she has always struggled — and will continue to do so. Most people — including many of her "allies" quoted in the Post story — are simply unable to figure out who Clinton actually is. Where does "Hillary Clinton, public figure" stop and "Hillary Clinton regular person" start? Or are they the same thing? Is this quest for Clinton to show more of who she really is doomed to failure because who she really is is a wonky, somewhat awkward figure who has lived so long in the public eye that there is no persona but her public one?

(Side note: There's also a broader question about whether a candidate's likability should matter and whether there is more of a focus on whether Clinton is "likable enough" because she is the first woman who will be the presidential nominee for one of the two major parties. But that's for another piece.)

...............SNIP"